Yellow Face
Encyclopedia
Yellow Face is a play by David Henry Hwang
, featuring the author himself as the protagonist. It premiered in Los Angeles at the Mark Taper Forum
in association with East West Players
and had its Off-Broadway
premiere at the Joseph Papp Public Theater. Mixing fact and fiction, Yellow Face is partly autobiographical, with the character Hwang putting on Hwang's play, Face Value
. Yellow Face is a satire that raises deep questions of what race really means, how politics and media function in society, what America really stands for, the importance of both fact and fiction, and who we are. Mr. Hwang talks about Yellow Face at this event. http://onlinecourses.colgate.edu/livingwriters
In 2008, it was revealed that Yellow Face gave Hwang his third Obie Award in Playwriting and made him a third-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
The play is currently published by Theatre Communications Group
and in an acting edition by Dramatists Play Service
, Inc.
transferred from London to New York City, there was a controversy over the casting of Jonathan Pryce
, a white British actor, in an Asian role. Although Hwang receives a lot of publicity about his protests against the casting, particularly as the first Asian-American playwright to win a Tony (for M. Butterfly
), the production of Miss Saigon continues without changes to the cast. In the play Yellow Face, the character Hwang accidentally casts a white man, Marcus G. Dahlman, as an Asian in one of the leading roles of Face Value. Comedy ensues as Hwang is first convinced and then tries to convince other people that Marcus has Asian ancestry as a Jew from Siberia. Hwang realizes that Marcus has no Asian blood, but by then, Face Value has cost $2 million and Hwang tries to cover up his mistake. Marcus, however, continues playing his role as an Asian in all parts of his life, becoming an activist for Asian rights, angering Hwang who views him as an "ethnic tourist." The play further explores his relationship to his father and that of the Chinese community to America. The father is a successful immigrant who built a large bank in California, and after some political contributions, gets investigated by Sen. Fred Thompson as a Chinese who funnels money from China to influence American politics. The investigations bears resemblance to that of Wen Ho Lee
. In the course of this, the protagonist and Marcus get implicated as Chinese collaborators. As Marcus' true identity reveals him as Caucasian, Thompsons's investigation breaks down, but Hwang now has to come clean about Marcus, and about himself.
David Henry Hwang
David Henry Hwang is an American playwright who has risen to prominence as the preeminent Asian American dramatist in the U.S.He was born in Los Angeles, California and was educated at the Yale School of Drama and Stanford University...
, featuring the author himself as the protagonist. It premiered in Los Angeles at the Mark Taper Forum
Mark Taper Forum
The Mark Taper Forum is a 739 seat thrust stage at the Los Angeles Music Center built by Welton Becket and Associates on the Bunker Hill section of downtown Los Angeles...
in association with East West Players
East West Players
East West Players is an Asian American theatre organization in Los Angeles, founded in 1965. As one of the nation's first Asian American theatre organizations, East West Players today continues to produce works and educational programs that give voice to the Asian Pacific American...
and had its Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
premiere at the Joseph Papp Public Theater. Mixing fact and fiction, Yellow Face is partly autobiographical, with the character Hwang putting on Hwang's play, Face Value
Face Value (play)
Face Value was a 1993 play by American playwright David Henry Hwang. It was to be the second Broadway production of the playwright's work, but it closed in previews on March 14, 1993. The production was scheduled to open at the Cort Theatre. It was directed by Jerry Zaks, with B. D...
. Yellow Face is a satire that raises deep questions of what race really means, how politics and media function in society, what America really stands for, the importance of both fact and fiction, and who we are. Mr. Hwang talks about Yellow Face at this event. http://onlinecourses.colgate.edu/livingwriters
In 2008, it was revealed that Yellow Face gave Hwang his third Obie Award in Playwriting and made him a third-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
The play is currently published by Theatre Communications Group
Theatre Communications Group
Theatre Communications Group is an organization dedicated to the promotion of non-profit professional theatre in the United States. TCG has over 450 member theatres located in 47 states; 17,000 individual members; and a growing number of University, Funder, Business and Trustee Affiliates...
and in an acting edition by Dramatists Play Service
Dramatists Play Service
Established in 1936 by members of the Dramatists Guild and the Society for Authors' Representatives, Dramatists Play Service, Inc. is a theatrical publishing and licensing house...
, Inc.
Plot summary
When the musical Miss SaigonMiss Saigon
Miss Saigon is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby, Jr.. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly, and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed romance involving an Asian woman abandoned by her American lover...
transferred from London to New York City, there was a controversy over the casting of Jonathan Pryce
Jonathan Pryce
Jonathan Pryce, CBE is a Welsh stage and film actor and singer. After studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and meeting his longtime partner English actress Kate Fahy in 1974, he began his career as a stage actor in the 1970s...
, a white British actor, in an Asian role. Although Hwang receives a lot of publicity about his protests against the casting, particularly as the first Asian-American playwright to win a Tony (for M. Butterfly
M. Butterfly
M. Butterfly is a 1988 play by David Henry Hwang loosely based on the relationship between French diplomat Bernard Boursicot and Shi Pei Pu, a male Peking opera singer....
), the production of Miss Saigon continues without changes to the cast. In the play Yellow Face, the character Hwang accidentally casts a white man, Marcus G. Dahlman, as an Asian in one of the leading roles of Face Value. Comedy ensues as Hwang is first convinced and then tries to convince other people that Marcus has Asian ancestry as a Jew from Siberia. Hwang realizes that Marcus has no Asian blood, but by then, Face Value has cost $2 million and Hwang tries to cover up his mistake. Marcus, however, continues playing his role as an Asian in all parts of his life, becoming an activist for Asian rights, angering Hwang who views him as an "ethnic tourist." The play further explores his relationship to his father and that of the Chinese community to America. The father is a successful immigrant who built a large bank in California, and after some political contributions, gets investigated by Sen. Fred Thompson as a Chinese who funnels money from China to influence American politics. The investigations bears resemblance to that of Wen Ho Lee
Wen Ho Lee
Dr. Wen Ho Lee is a Taiwan-born Taiwanese American scientist who worked for the University of California at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. He created simulations of nuclear explosions for the purposes of scientific inquiry, as well as for improving the safety and reliability of the US nuclear...
. In the course of this, the protagonist and Marcus get implicated as Chinese collaborators. As Marcus' true identity reveals him as Caucasian, Thompsons's investigation breaks down, but Hwang now has to come clean about Marcus, and about himself.